01 Editorial

To launch our first ‘Radiant Living’ magazine, I thought it might be interesting to share the background to how I arrived at the name ‘Radiant Light Yoga’. In many ways, the name of the yoga centres reflects the story of how they came into being.

As a term, ‘radiant’ can mean shining brightly, sending out light, a point from which light radiates. In yoga, the radiant body refers to the energy that you project. When the radiant body is strong we recognise our own inner strength and we share it with others. Shining the inner light so brightly that it is there for all to see, attracting opportunities without even trying.

In the tradition of Kundalini Yoga, a spiritual name can be requested. This is based on your date of birth and your given name. Once I became a teacher, I thought I might apply for my spiritual name, just to see how it resonated. I was not really prepared for how deeply I was touched when I read the name I was given: Sat Jot Kaur. The ‘Sat’ part of the name means ‘truth’ and ‘Jot’ means ‘light’, all women are given the name ‘Kaur’, which means princess. Together the name means ‘one that shines with true light’.

When I was offered the first yoga centre (this is an amazing story in itself), the decision to say yes was completely spontaneous and probably the first time I consciously witnessed the neutral mind in action: no reaction, just action. The ‘yes’ came from a place of complete certainty and bubbled up without much thinking at all. After the wheels were in motion, setting up a new business in a relatively short period of time, I was often asked: ‘Aren’t you scared?’ or people commented ‘You are very brave!’. This felt surprising because it had not occurred to me to be scared, nor did I feel particularly brave. I had long daydreamed about opening a yoga space, and here it was, fully formed and landing right at my feet!

So when I was searching for the name for this new centre I realised that the entire opportunity came from the radiant body. My teacher had told me that all of the opportunities we receive are in response to what we project. I was attracting possibilities and here was a brilliant example of what that can bring. This was a huge lesson for me. So the name ‘Radiant Light Yoga’ came along, and the project has continued to be an example of how we can embody and live our yoga on and off the mat.

Now another beautiful opportunity has arisen, and we are beginning this magazine to share inspiration and wisdom from the Radiant Light community here in Belgium and throughout the world. I hope that you will enjoy the contributions!